Senior guard Olivia Major had a career-high 14 points and senior forward Kali Bennett broke the single-game school record for blocks with nine as the Arizona State women’s basketball team defeated Washington 47-41 on Thursday in Wells Fargo Arena.
Major knocked down a career-high four 3-pointers, three of them coming in a decisive first-half run for the Sun Devils (17-8, 8-6 Pac-12). ASU converted 24 Washington turnovers into 22 points, cruising for the better part of the second half en route to the team’s second consecutive victory and one that completed the Devils' season sweep of the Huskies (13-12, 5-9 Pac-12).
Bennett just missed a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine blocks on the evening. Her nine blocks gave her sole possession of first place in ASU’s records books for a single game, breaking a tie at seven that she had previous held with Kym Hampton (1981).
Bennett now has 145 blocks in her career, second on ASU’s all-time list behind Hampton’s 178, and has posted 72 blocks this season, smashing Hampton’s previous single-season record of 55.
ASU's defensive presence was prominent throughout, as UW shot just .286 (16 for 56) on the evening in addition to the 24 turnovers.
The Sun Devils opened the second half on a 17-4 run to pull away at 40-23, although Washington used a 6-0 run of its own to regain some momentum.
A desperation heave from senior Alex Earl with the shot clock running down found nothing but net, though, putting ASU up 43-29 before Washington's late run cut the deficit to six at the final buzzer.
Major matched her previous career high of 11 points in just one half, netting all 11 points while shooting 4 for 6 in the first half to help the Sun Devils to a 24-19 halftime advantage. Major’s three treys in the frame surpassed her prior career record of two.
Both teams struggled with turnovers and missed shots early in the first, with the first points not coming until Washington’s Jazmine Davis knocked down a jumper 2:30 into the game.
The Huskies pulled out to a 12-6 advantage with 8:36 remaining in the half before the Sun Devils used a 18-7 run to surge into the lead, with Major scoring all 11 of her first-half points during a three-minute span at the start of the run.
